Convertible furniture



Oct. 16,1962 H. v. COLLUM w CONVERTIBLE FURNITURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 1, 1960 Howard M Cal/um INVENTOR.

9 BY 240m 1952 H. v. COLLUM 3,058

CONVERTIBLE FURNITURE Filed Dec. 1, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Howard L Col/um 4 INVENTOR.

3,058,776 CONVERTIBLE FURNITURE Howard V. Collum, 2205 39th Ave, Meridian, Miss. Filed Dec. 1, 1960, Ser. No. 73,132 1 Claim. (Cl. 297-122) This invention relates to convertible furniture, and particularly to a piece of furniture that may be converted either to a seating bench, an inclined easel, or a table.

It is an object of this invention to provide a piece of furniture which may be readily and easily converted to a table, an easel, or a seat and which may be used in schoolrooms, cafeterias, church social rooms, parks, or playgrounds where it has been found that such convertible furniture is necessary.

It is another object of the invention to provide a piece of convertible furniture which requires no special tools or any tools at all when converting from one form to another, and the conversion may be accomplished simply by exerting a slight pressure on a round lift bar.

It is another object of the invention to provide a bench which may be convertible into an easel or a table and wherein the entire surface area of the back and seat of the bench are always used regardless in which form the furniture is used.

Another object of the invention is to save space in churches, schools, cafeterias and other public places. By providing a single piece of furniture which may be con verted from a bench to a table or vice versa, the expense and necessity of providing storage space for both a set of benches and a set of tables is eliminated. Also, when a cafeteria for example is converted from a dining hall into a public meeting place or an assembly hall a large amount of work is involved in moving out the tables and bringing in benches. With this invention, this additional work is eliminated and the tables may be left in place and easily and quickly converted into benches.

Still another object of the invention, is to provide a piece of convertible furniture which is simple and sturdy in design, easily operated when converted from one form to another, and economical to manufacture.

Another object of the invention is to provide a piece of convertible furniture and means for positively locking it in any of its converted forms.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view in perspective of the invention when it is converted into a table;

FIGURE 2 is a cross sectional view taken substantially on the plane of line 22 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a cross sectional view taken through the central portion of FIGURE 1 and showing in elevation in enlarged form the various positions of the parts when the furniture is used as a bench, an easel, or a table; and

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken substantially on the plane of line 4-4 in FIGURE 3.

Referring to FIGURE 1, it can be seen that the stationary and rigid frame of the furniture comprises two flat vertically extending end members and 12. These end members are rigidly fixed together by means of horizontally extending beams 14 and 16. The members are connected together by conventional means such as glue or screws, not shown.

The upper portions 18 and 20 of the end members are connected by means of bolts 19 and nuts 21 to angle 3,658,776 Patented Oct. 16, 1962 2 iron members 22 which are spaced from the end members by washers 24.

Referring to FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, it can be seen that 'the angle irons 22 have one of their legs fixed to the bench back 26 by means of wood screws 28.

The hinge 32 has each of its leaves fixed by means such as wood screws to edges of the bench back 26 and bench seat 30 as shown in FIGURE 3.

Pivotally connected to the lower end of each angle member 22 is a brace bar 36. A rivet 34 provides the pivotal connection betwen members 22 and 36, and a horizontally extending bar 38 which is round in cross section, is fixed at its ends to the central portions of the brace bars 36.

Vertically extending channel members are secured by means of screws 42 to the inner surface of the end members 10 and 12 adjacent the forward edges thereof. Fixed to the forward ends of the bars 36 are rivets 46 which extend through longitudinal slots 44 in the channel members 40. The ends of the rivets have washers 48 fixed thereto which retain on the rivets roller members 50. As shown in FIGURE 4, the forward ends of the bars 36 are guided for vertical movement in the slots 44 and the rivets are prevented from moving out of these slots by the washers 48. As the bars 36 are moved up and down, the rollers 51 rotate on the edges of the slots 44 and thereby reduce friction.

FIGURE 3 shows the three primary positions into which the furniture may be converted. Position A shown in cross section indicates the furniture when it is converted into a bench; position B indicates the furniture when it is being used as an easel, and position C indicates the furniture in the table position. At least three slots 52, 54, 56 are provided in the back edge of the slot 44 and are vertically spaced from one another.

When the furniture is converted into a bench, the back 26 rests against the substantially vertical surfaces 58 and 59 of the end pieces, and the seat portion 30 lies in a substantially horizontal plane and rests upon the flat surfaces 60 and 61 of the end members 18 and 20. The rivet 46 is inserted into a notch 56 in the channel member 40 and by means of the bar 36 locks the angle 22 and back 26 in the bench position.

To convert the furniture to an easel, the bar 38 is pulled forwardly and upwardly thereby rotating the back member 26 until the angle 22 and bar 36 are moved to an over center position and the seat member 30 rests upon the forward flat surface of the angle 22. Once the angle 22 and bar 36 have been moved past the over center position, then the rivet 46 may be re-inserted back into the notch 56 thereby locking the furniture into its easel position B. If it is desired that the easel be in a more horizontal position, then the forward ends of the angles 22 may be lifted further upwardly by bar 38 until the rivet 46 can be locked in the notch 54. This provides another easel position which is not shown in FIGURE 3.

To convert the furniture piece to a table as indicated by the C position, the bar 38 is again grasped and lifted upwardly until the rivet 46 can be inserted into the notch 52. This procedure effectively locks the back 26 and seat 30 in the horizontal table position C.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

Convertible furniture comprising a vertical support having L-shaped supporting surfaces on an upper por- 3 tion thereof, said support having a front, a rear, and a top, a back member pivoted adjacent the top of the support, a seat member having an edge adjacent to an edge of the back member, pivot means connecting said edges, said members adapted to rest on said L-shaped surfaces for forming a bench seat, a rigid member fixed to a rear surface of said back member and having a portion extending beyond said edges, a rigid bar having one end pivoted to said portion, adjustable seeming means comprising a generally vertically extending slot in a front portion of said support below said L-shaped supporting surf aces, a plurality of downwardly sloping and vertically members in a bench position on said L-shaped surfaces, 7 7

said rigid member andrigid bar being movable to an 'overeenter position whereby said seat member rests on the extending portion of said rigid bar, said notches above said one notch adapted to selectively receive said projeetion to selectively secure the other end of the bar in a plurality of vertically spaced positions to selectively support said rigid member, said back member and said seat member in aligned horizontal and inclined positions whereby the seat and back members may function as an easel or a table top.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 377,356 Evans Jan. 31, 1888 1,016,841 MacDonald Feb. 6, 1912 1,153,358 Vaill Sept. 14, 1915 1,851,299 Banks Mar. 29, 1932 2,707,512 Fahle May 3, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS France Dec. 3, 1954 w rm 

